Tama man hits “Double Dollar Fortune” to tune of $100,000

March 27, 2014

DES MOINES A Tama man said he saw that he won a $100,000 prize on his instant-scratch ticket and thought he was having a dream.

"I kind of put it away and over the night I just kept asking my wife if it was real, 'I'm not sleeping am I?'" Stephen Albert said.

Albert claimed the fifth of eight top prizes of $100,000 available in the "Double Dollar Fortune" scratch game. He said he was still in disbelief when he claimed his prize Tuesday at the Iowa Lottery's headquarters in Des Moines.

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Stephen Albert, Tama, said he had to even have his wife recheck his winning Iowa Lottery “Double Dollar Fortune” scratch game ticket to reassure himself he lad won. Photo/Iowa Lottery

"I still can't believe it. I had to have my wife slap me a couple times to make sure it was real," he said.

Albert, 42, said he purchased his winning ticket Monday at Casey's, 916 E. Main St. in Marshalltown and scratched it off the same day.

"I had to keep checking and checking. I had my wife check it out and make sure it was actually a winner," he said.

Albert, who works at Meskwaki Health Clinic in Tama, said his lottery win comes at the perfect time as he and his wife are expecting a baby.

Double Dollar Fortune is a $10 scratch game. Players scratch the "lucky numbers" and "your numbers." If any of "your numbers" match the "lucky numbers," the player wins the prize shown. If a player uncovers a "2X" symbol, they win double the prize shown. The overall odds of winning a prize in the game are 1 in 2.62.

Since the lottery's start in 1985, its players have won more than $3.2 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.5 billion for the state programs that benefit all Iowans.

Today, lottery proceeds in Iowa have three main purposes: They provide support for veterans, help for a variety of significant projects through the state General Fund, and backing for the Vision Iowa program, which was implemented to create tourism destinations and community attractions in the state and build and repair schools.